Creating Community will help you position your department to increase your budget and reposition it as a key player in the community. You'll learn to implement a VIP action plan as created by the California Park & Recreation Society. You'll also learn to make a case for your programs by communicating your plan to policy makers and others.

Over the past 150 years, communities have focused their attention on enhancing quality of life, health and wellness, and the greening of their environments through the provision of park and recreation services and amenities. The greening and beautification of communities as well as tying recreation services to clean economic development provide a direct connection between the work public park and recreation departments and community development. This text asks students to consider important questions, such as: What are the most important elements of a livable community? In what type of community they would like to live? How important are building social connections amongst family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and others? How are such relationships developed and sustained? What types of organizations are more likely to create such opportunities for building ones social capital? What agencies in the community are concerned with addressing environmental degradation and on the flipside enhancing community beautification and greening? All of these questions point toward the importance of public parks and recreation and its community development efforts. Community Parks & Recreation: An Introduction is organized into three major parts. Part I focuses on the History and Philosophical Foundations of Public Parks and Recreation. The major intent of this section is to provide an underpinning to assist the student in understanding the major dimensions of public parks and recreation and its impact socially, culturally, environmentally and economically. Part II of the book focuses on Managerial and Administrative Aspects of Park and Recreation Systems. This section of the book provides practical strategies for administrative activities, planning, marketing, budgeting, engaging the public and land acquisition. Part III of the book is focused on The Public Sector Service Provision in Parks and Recreation. This section of the book focuses on program and service delivery including chapters dealing with programming for community recreation, youth programming, programming for adults and seniors, programming special events and community-based therapeutic recreation. The authors of this text all share a deep interest in community, parks, and/or recreation services. At various times in their careers, they have have served as playground leaders, recreation specialists, youth leaders, community therapeutic recreation specialists, recreation center directors, recreation supervisors and/or directors of parks and recreation. The authors hold a strong commitment to community parks and recreation that is clearly reflected in this new text.

What, exactly, is a park? What role have parks played in cities, and what will they need to be in the new economics and society of 21st century America? To answer these questions, noted planner and planning educator Alexander Garvin first describes the parks agenda of Frederick Law Olmsted, which dominated the design of American parks for over a century, until the last 50 years of suburbanization so radically changed the nation's landscape and society. Parks and open space, once thought of as essential to public life and an important government responsibility, are now often regarded as amenities that can be done without. In order to develop a new agenda that fits the economics, needs, and expectations of Americans in this century, Garvin studied the details of successful parks and open space projects throughout the country. He distilled a set of principles to guide the actions of public and private leaders in all aspects of park, recreation, and open space development. His ideas--many of which challenge existing practices and conventional wisdom--fit new times and circumstances in America. This beautiful report is extensively illustrated with plan drawings and the author's own color photographs of parks across America. Parks, Recreation, and Open Space was sponsored in part by the City Parks Forum (CPF), a fellowship of mayors, their park advisors, and community leaders that encourages collaboration and exchange of ideas about the role of parks in communities. The CPF is administered by the American Planning Association and supported in part by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. It is the first in a series of three reports by the City Parks Forum. The second report is Parks and Economic Development (PAS 502) by John L. Crompton.

Parks and recreation systems have evolved in remarkable ways over the past two decades. No longer just playgrounds and ballfields, parks and open spaces have become recognized as essential green infrastructure with the potential to contribute to community resiliency and sustainability. To capitalize on this potential, the parks and recreation system planning process must evolve as well. In Parks and Recreation System Planning, David Barth provides a new, step-by-step approach to creating parks systems that generate greater economic, social, and environmental benefits. Barth first advocates that parks and recreation systems should no longer be regarded as isolated facilities, but as elements of an integrated public realm. Each space should be designed to generate multiple community benefits. Next, he presents a new approach for parks and recreation planning that is integrated into community-wide issues. Chapters outline each step—evaluating existing systems, implementing a carefully crafted plan, and more—necessary for creating a successful, adaptable system. Throughout the book, he describes initiatives that are creating more resilient, sustainable, and engaging parks and recreation facilities, drawing from his experience consulting in more than 100 communities across the U.S. Parks and Recreation System Planning meets the critical need to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive approach for planning parks and recreation systems across the country. This is essential reading for every parks and recreation professional, design professional, and public official who wants their community to thrive.